Watch The Ears
by fictocriticism
Summary: My first Fic... some basic fluff... filling in time for the 5th book! Please enjoy


**_Watch the Ears – by lovesprungfromhate_**

Harry sat on the edge of his four-poster bed. Every year was the same. Sometime over the holidays he would forget what it was like, having a room, your own space, and enough places to store all your belongings. Not that he was going to complain to the Dursley's about living out of a suitcase. The suitcase was one of the last reminders he had that number 4 Privet Drive was not his home. Then, on September 1st, he would jump on the Hogwarts Express and feel like he had never been away.

            Except for the beds that is. They always managed to surprise him. He would sink into the soft mattress on the first night, and it was like rediscovering luxury all over again. At the moment, Harry would be willing to deal with the Dursley's forever, as long as he had a four-poster bed with him. So soft and…bouncy. Harry sighed. Oh nothing was better than a four-poster bed. Suddenly an unbidden image of a young red-head floated gently across his mind. Harry grinned sheepishly to himself. Well…perhaps one thing.

            He rolled lazily onto his side and glanced at the photo he had placed on his bed side table. Four figures stood waving at the camera; a much smaller Ron, a still bushy-haired Hermione, a younger Harry, and an always fiery Ginny. She had an arm around Hermione and Harry's shoulders and was smiling directly at the lens. As the photo moved, the figures waved and laughed some more. Harry turned his attentions to Ginny. He'd have to update that photo, she looked so young there. He'd seen her over the holidays at the Burrow and she'd definitely filled out a bit… Harry pushed that thought away before it became slightly dangerous. _Ron's little sister_, his mind thought for him. Sure enough, he was forced back into safer territory. Anyway, the point was, Ginny wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a fifth year, one year behind him. And almost instantaneously over the summer, he had found those chocolate eyes becoming more than he could bear. Suddenly, he found his mind creeping back to her.

            He glanced at the photo again, seeing if he could find the same chocolate brown in her eyes back then. The picture figures waved again, and as they moved, Harry noticed Ginny's eyes move slightly to watch his own young grinning face. As he watched, a downward tug appeared at the corner of her mouth. Harry's eyes widened. He was sure he had never seen that before. He looked again, but the smiling Ginny had returned, looking happy and cheerful like he'd always seen her.

            Harry rolled onto his back, eyes fixed on the ceiling above, contemplating his holiday. Things had been…interesting at the Burrow to say the least. Ron and Hermione had nearly blown the place apart with their violent rows. This time round, Harry had noticed a certain under-lying tension. Actually, the entire family had noticed it. Not to mention, Harry saw Ron look positively guilty and confused when Hermione stormed off after one particularly bad argument. He'd followed her out to apologise. Apologise? Ron Weasley? And directly after the argument? No, there was only one thing that could mean. Harry sighed again. Ron and Hermione. Who would have believed it? Everyone, according to Ginny, when he'd hesitantly brought the subject up with her. She said she'd known for ages that Ron was keen on Hermione.

_"Watch out for the ears_," _she said. _

_"When he's around Hermione, his ears tinge slightly red at the tips. It's a sure sign he's feeling something for her. And I'll guarantee you it is a **good** feeling."_

_ She'd smiled as Harry laughed himself silly at the thought of Ron blushing around Hermione. Suddenly, he realised who he was talking to. Perhaps it wasn't so tactful…_

_"Sorry Gin, I just… Ron – blushing!" and erupted into hysterical laughter again. A tiny sigh escaped Ginny's lips as she sat next to him on the living room couch._

_"It isn't so bad is it? I mean, it didn't ruin them, did it? She's as keen as he is."_

_Harry had stopped at that. She had a point, Hermione was obviously a little smitten with his often bumbling best friend. Then he perceived more clearly the point Ginny was trying to make. He looked closely at the girl sitting to his left. She was biting her lip a little anxiously, staring fairly intently at the floor. Somehow, Harry knew she was waiting earnestly for his answer. He didn't know exactly what to say. She knew and he knew that her feelings had been betrayed numerous times by the dreadful Weasley blush. He also knew that he didn't want to hurt her._

_"Of course not. You're right. Hermione and Ron are perfect for each other, if they could only see it." He paused, searching for the right words._

_"And blushing isn't so bad either Ginny. Do you have the Weasley blush as well?" he asked, knowing full well the answer._

_Ginny laughed at his blatant attempt to reassure her._

_"Actually, I was lucky enough for it to miss me," she chuckled. Harry felt a little twinge in his stomach at the sound. He tried to glance sideways at her. Her red hair was blowing gently in the breeze from outside, playing tiny strands across her face. Despite her words, she was tinged slightly pink because of being in the same room as Harry Potter. As he watched, she swallowed nervously, and stood up. Harry followed suit._

_"I better get back to the garden." He said, as she said "I should get back to my work."_

_They laughed quickly, and when the awkward pause came next, Ginny went to the door. There she paused and looked back at Harry, who had been watching her with a slightly new perception of Ginny Weasley in his mind. _

_"Don't forget Harry. Watch the ears." And with that she was gone._

            That day had changed his relationship with Ginny Weasley, whether she knew it or not. He no longer considered her a child, and no longer considered her as "Ron's little sister". True, they weren't great friends; he still hardly knew her. He was, however, on the way of getting to know her. And surprisingly, Harry found himself looking forward to it. Whether it be that he felt he should – after all, she'd wanted to get to know him for a long time before now – or because he just wanted to, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was going to give it a go.

            His thoughts returned briefly to Ron and Hermione. Every time he thought of them he was always a little dumbstruck. On reflection though, he realised it really was meant to be. Another sigh escaped him, this one slightly more frustrated then the ones before it. Meant to be? God, keep this up and he'd be listening to Professor Trawleny in Divination class. He chuckled slightly at that. Yeah…right. Listening in Divination? _Give me a bucket!_

Harry came down the stairs into the Common Room. It was one week into the school term and he was dreadfully bored already. Admittedly it beat the hell out of Muggle school, he'd had plenty enough of that. But still – studies were pressing. Apparently sixth years were required to work. And none of the Professors wanted to hear about groans, grumbles or excuses. It appeared you could be on your deathbed over night, but if Professor McGonagall didn't receive the Transfiguration essay, you could expect to be serving a nasty detention. _As long as it wasn't Snape's, you had a chance at surviving,_ Harry thought wryly. _And if you had someone to help you…_ Again that image of Ginny floated across his mind, and again Harry shoved it aside. He glanced guiltily at Ron. _Oh boy, this could get…interesting_.

He would really have to keep his mind on track this year. Unfortunately, it appeared his mind had no intention of keeping in with this plan. Ginny had just walked through his line of vision to a table on the other side of the room. His gaze unconsciously followed her, noting her walk, the way her body moved, the way her hands gripped her books to hold them steady. She positioned them carefully on her desk before sitting down, waved to a friend somewhere and unrolled a fresh piece of parchment. Her eyes lifted at that moment and hit Harry's. _There they are again,_ Harry thought despairingly. _Those damn eyes!_ They searched questioningly in Harry's green eyes, looking for what exactly Harry didn't know. After perhaps a second of intense soul-searching, Harry felt a warmth creep up his neck, and he forcibly tore his eyes from hers. _Oh My God, I'm doing the face…_ The effort it took was monstrous, and he sat, gasping at the table wondering what on earth had just happened. His heart was pumping like he'd just finished an intense game of Quidditch, yet this time it felt different. Willing the dreadful blush to dissipate, Harry struggled to find some sense in his mind.

_Right, let's think this through_ his mind began. _In one section of this debacle, we have Ginny. Yes…Ginny. Cute Ginny. _Definitely no longer a girl Ginny, he discovered as his gaze was once again lost to him. He mentally slapped himself. _Let's cool it shall we?_ His mind tried again. Harry let a nasty image of Ron wearing a mighty scowl surface in his mind. Harry was hastily cooled. In fact he almost felt the room chill. He snuck another look over at Ginny. Nope, she stilled looked rosy as ever. Just seeing her sitting over at the table, and noticing exactly the way she crossed her legs set Harry's mind wandering. His train of thought was interrupted by a giggle from somewhere else in the room. Harry, face burning, immediately tried to look thoroughly interested in his parchment in front of him.

_Yes, yes, transfiguration, tea-pots, frogs etc…_Harry felt his mind shrug…if such a thing were possible. He knew he wasn't finishing this tonight. Not with certain distractions in the room. _Ok, one last look. Then you're going to bed. It's getting late._ His mind, apparently deciding mother role was its latest phase, told him in stern tones. Harry allowed himself to glance Ginny's way one last time. Her red hair had caught the flames colour in its long strands. The way it shimmered down her back made Harry want to run his fingers through it at that very moment. He quickly sat on his hands to stop them from acting without his approval. Her hand gripped her quill finely as she wrote out her work in loopy handwriting. Harry longed to lean over her shoulder and watch her write her beautiful script, preferably a message to him. Saying something cute or funny, like she always managed to say to him. Realising he wasn't anywhere closer to leaving the Common Room, Harry decided to at least get comfortable if he was going to be here for a while. He glanced around to Ron, to check he could leave unobserved. The place at the table was empty. He looked around the entire room and just caught a glimpse of Hermione and Ron leaving through the portrait hole. He breathed a little easier.

He tried to casually make his way over to the couch in front of the fireplace. This was a little harder, as it actually involved walking through Ginny's eye-line. He almost trembled at the thought. Taking a deep breath, he purposefully strode halfway across the room before his mind objected. _Relaxed! That's the look we're going for here!_ He hastened to slow his step and to look calmer. He knew his hair was betraying him, he could just feel it springing out of control with every step he took. Finally, somehow, he reached the couch and sank gratefully onto it. He sat there, carefully positioned so he was looking at the fire, yet could easily look at Ginny without turning his head.

Slowly, the Common Room emptied of the other students, until it was only Harry and Ginny left. Harry hardly noticed, his eyes were firmly planted on the slight figure of Ginny, head bent and working furiously. He saw her eyes glance nervously at the clock, saw the moment when she decided time had worked against her. She looked up, took in the empty Common Room and sighed. Then her eyes picked out Harry on the couch. It was too late to avert his eyes now. He knew he should, he knew he wouldn't be able to withstand another soul searching moment. But he knew that there was no way he could turn away. In that moment, when her eyes were locked on his, and his eyes on hers, Harry felt his insides turn to some sort of mushy liquid. His heart began to skip some beats as it frantically pushed blood straight to his face. Traitorous heart. Probably waiting calmly for moments like these, then with an opening of an artery, just rushing blood to his neck and face for all the world to see.

He knew Ginny saw him blush, knew she was surprised. The expression of her eyes changed slightly, and she began to probe at his feelings. Startled, Harry dropped his gaze, then immediately wished he hadn't. He kept his head looking downwards. When he next dared to lift his head, he found himself face to face with Ginny. Any other thoughts lurking in his mind left at that moment. Finding himself face to face with the girl he'd been thinking about all night would have scared a thinking and rational Harry. But now that all reason had left him, alone here with this gorgeous girl, Harry decided it was his show to run. Feeling bolder then he ever had before, he stood up to bring himself to her level. Now he was looking down at her, and feeling even more confident then before. He saw her open her mouth, no doubt to say something about how she had to sleep, how she had to leave, how he was her brother's friend. Harry knew that whatever it was, he didn't want to hear it. So he placed a finger lightly on her lips, and grinned at the expression on her face.

"Ginny, I…" he began. His hand had just found a lock of her hair, and he was fascinated by the feel of it in his fingers. It required all his will power to stop from sweeping her up into his arms right then. Ginny stood perfectly still, her breathing growing shallower and shallower with every breath.

"You're hair is so smooth," he said in wonder. A soft chuckle from Ginny broke the moment. Harry realised suddenly what he was doing and quickly withdrew his hand from her hair. He felt that awful blush creeping up his neck again. Mortified, he began to move away… then he felt a hand on his. He looked down to see a fair white hand take his calloused one. He looked up to see a fair white face framed with red smiling into his. He felt his own face crack into a smile, and was delighted to see a spark jump into those chocolate eyes. Those eyes that had haunted him since the summer.

"Ginny, I…"

"Harry, I…"

They both grinned sheepishly. Ginny tried again.

"Harry, you know how I feel."

Harry felt that warmth creeping upwards from his stomach. Oh, he sure hoped he knew how she felt. Taking a deep breath, and hoping against hope that he had gauged the situation correctly, he began.

"I think I do…I, I hope I do. And erm… I hope you know how I feel too?"

Ginny bit her lip a little awkwardly. He could see her trying to make sense of the whole situation.

"I hope I do too…but, erm, just in case I'm wrong…could you, maybe, clear that up for me?"

Her voice caught in her throat slightly, making Harry wonder if she was ok. Her eyes were shining quite brightly at him. He shook his worries away – he liked them like that. Better still, he liked them looking at him like that.

"I think I could…definitely."

He heard himself reply, and nodded in surprised approval to himself. _Not bad, Potter._ He tightened his hold on her hand in his, and reached out with his other. He gently brushed a tendril of hair out of the way and took a step closer to her. Ginny looked up at him with an uncertain look. He could see her trying to work it out, asking herself what he was doing. Deciding to make things easy for her, Harry smiled gently down at this young woman who had dominated his thoughts of late.

"Do you mind if I…?" he trailed off, cupping her face in his hand. He leant down towards her, and heard a whispered "No" as his lips met hers. His mind shut down totally at this point. Apparently, so did his body, because when Harry pulled away, he found himself a little short of breath. Removing his hand from the back of her neck, he searched her face anxiously. He wasn't disappointed. She smiled, a wide smile, lighting up her face and more importantly, her eyes.

"Good night Harry" she said, and reached up to kiss him on the check.

Harry watched her receding back with astonishment. As she left, he caught a glimpse of the top of her ears. They were tinged slightly pink. Harry's heart flipped in his chest.

_Watch the ears,_ she'd said to him. With pleasure, he thought. 


End file.
